Panel to discuss pressing women, family issues in 2012 presidential election

September 13, 2012

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In this year’s presidential election campaign, women’s issues have taken center stage — from contraception, to fair pay to the right to choose.

A panel discussion on women, work and family in the 2012 presidential election will be held at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 19 in Room 180 at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law. The event is sponsored by the Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research, the League of Women Voters of Alachua County, the Levin College of Law and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service.

The roundtable discussion, moderated by former Gainesville Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan, will focus on the representation of gender and sexuality during this electoral season. The program will take a hard look at how women’s changing roles affect our major societal institutions and examine how our culture has responded to these changes. Panelists will also reflect on the controversial comments by U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin that brought women’s reproductive rights to the forefront of the election.

Panelists will include:

• Lynn Leverty, a senior lecturer in UF’s department of political science whose major areas of interest include women in politics and public policy. Her current research focuses on gender and ethics.
• Shani King, an associate professor of law and co-director of the Levin College of Law’s Center on Children and Families. His particular interest is on the rights of children and families from traditionally underserved populations.
• Florida state Sens. Nan Rich, D-Weston, and Evelyn Lynn, R-Daytona.